The Most Mysterious Man in Tech May Just Have Been Unmasked

Even if you've never heard of Satoshi Nakamoto, you're no doubt familiar with his work. As inventor of Bitcoin—the revolutionary and untraceable cryptocurrency that's roughly the online equivalent of cold, hard cash—Nakamoto is not only the father of an entire economy worth billions of dollars, but also a multi-multi-milionaire himself. But Nakamoto is just an alias, and no one has been able to figure out who he actually is. At least not until now.

In an in-depth report, Wired has pointed its finger at one Craig Steven Wright, a fairly anonymous Australian polymath who has been weaving in and out of the Bitcoin world since the currency was unveiled and released in 2009. Wired presents its evidence in the form of dozens of breadcrumbs, including indications that Wright knew about Bitcoin before it was ever made public, and clues that even seem intentional, like sly comments at public appearances.

"I am still within that early phase of learning just what my capabilities happen to be. So, even now with resources I remain vulnerable," it read. "You seem to know a few things. More than you should.""Although we all desire some level of credit, I have moved past many of these things."

Meanwhile, a simultaneous report fromGizmodo suggests Wright was aided in the invention of Bitcoin by one Dave Kleiman, an American computer forensics expert who died in 2013. In addition, Gizmodo offers a wealth of additional evidence in the form of hacked emails in which Wright appears to admit to being Nakamoto. Gizmodoalso visited Wright's home in Australia and had several brief interactions with Wright's family and coworkers, though the results of the face-to-face confrontations were mostly fruitless. Ultimately, Wright did not openly admit to being Nakamoto to either publication.

It makes sense that Nakamoto would want to stay hidden. The father of Bitcoin is known to have at least one million of the currency in online digital wallets, an amount that would be worth $400 million by today's exchange rate. But besides just being filthy rich, Nakamoto is also responsible for a booming shadow economy that lead to the growth of the illegal online drugs-and-guns bizarre known as the Silk Road, the founder of which was recently sentenced to life in prison for his crimes. Beyond that, Bitcoin a incredibly useful tool for laundering money, which makes it an ingredient in all manner of heinous activity, online and off.

That said, Bitcoin as also proven to be a monumental technical accomplishment, and though the exchange rate has plummeted from the all-time high of $1,216.73 it reached in November of 2013, it's still bopping around at an impressive ~$400 per 'coin. And if its legacy does indeed continue, you can see why the man behind the mask of Nakamoto might want to step out into the spotlight, but also why he might only do it if forcibly unmasked.

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